Raven
by Aradiuth
Summary: Takes place in “Twilight”. Raven is James’ mate and in his coven. She comes to Forks earlier than the rest, though. What happens when she befriends Bella? Will she go against her mate to defend their friendship? Or will James dominate all her decisions?
1. Chapter 1

Raven

Summary: Takes place in "Twilight". Raven is James' mate and in his coven. She comes to Forks earlier than the rest, though. What happens when she befriends Bella? Will she go against her mate to defend their friendship? Or will James dominate all her decisions?

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to S. Meyer. The only thing that belongs to me is Raven.

Chapter 1

Once more, Raven tried reasoning with the idiot she shared a coven with, not to mention a relationship. "James, for the last time, will you let me scout the area or not?"

"No."

"Why the hell not?"

James ran a pale, strong hand through his light hair. "Raven, it's too dangerous. There may be another coven there now and if you get in their business, whether on purpose or accidentally, they'll rip you to shreds."

"James is right, Raven," Laurent said, walking into the room. "Quit trying to be brave. Either we're a coven or we're not."

Raven looked around the room for something hard and heavy to heave at their heads. It was a simple, modest hotel room that had, up until very recently, belonged to a young man and his girlfriend. The bodies were still heaped in the corner.

"Where's Victoria?" she demanded. _Victoria will take my side, _she thought confidently to herself.

Laurent rolled his eyes. "Bathroom."

"Yeah, sure," James said sarcastically.

Victoria emerged from the hall. "What's the problem now?" she asked in her musical voice.

"James and Laurent won't let me go to town to check out the scene," Raven immediately complained.

Victoria tossed her flame-colored hair behind her shoulder as she regarded the three of them. "Raven, you _are_ the youngest of us."

"Does that mean I can never have a single chance to prove myself?" Raven shot.

Victoria sighed. "Let her go."

Laurent shrugged. "_I_ am going to check out some food possibilities." He left, accidentally slamming the door behind him.

A growl ripped from James' throat. "I will not stand for it." He turned his bright red eyes onto Ravens'. "If there are other vampires there, you could be killed."

"She's a good fighter," Victoria pointed out in Raven's defense.

"What if there's a large group?"

"I still have my talent," Raven said softly. "Even if it's not the most powerful of all talents, it's something."

In the end, James gave in. Raven wasted no time, leaving at once. She made for the country, where she could run freely without worrying about scaring any humans. It was probably her favorite thing in being a vampire, the running. Feeling the wind whip past her, parting it with her cold, hard skin like a knife through melted butter. She let out an exhilarated shout, loving her new – however temporarily – freedom. She loved James, but he worried about her too much.

Raven frowned and slowed down at the thought of James. How could she define him efficiently? A tracker, James both hated and reveled in humans. Hated because they were so weak, so presumptive. And yet he reveled in their presence because they were his food, and because he was infinitely better in all ways than they were.

Yet, James had another side, Raven's side. A soft, compassionate part of him always came out when he and Raven were alone. How she loved that side! She loved how he could always take her breath away, even though she was his equal.

Raven jerked out of her thoughts when she nearly ran straight into a sign. Angrily, she skidded to a halt just in front of it and prepared to kick it into splinters. Then, the words caught her eye.

The sign said, very clearly, "Welcome to Forks."

A wry smile worked its way onto Raven's pale, sculpted face. A vague sense of triumph sped through her and left just as quickly. It was time to determine whether or not there were predators here already.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Raven could feel him following her – such was her talent. She had made the deadly mistake of wandering past the school, thinking foolishly that if there were any vampires, they would doubtless be grown. Now one of the vampires, a ridiculously strong one, was bounding through the streets, trying to stalk her. What he didn't know was that it was impossible to stalk Raven.

Seriously annoyed that she hadn't shaken him yet, Raven decided to try a technique James had taught her: spreading the scent. She rubbed her back against every large thing she came across, whether it was a tree or a wall. She went off to the side a bit and rubbed her bare skin against a signpost. Then, she sprinted off in the opposite direction.

It worked. When he got to the place of the spread, he was too confused to follow her. Eventually, his presence faltered and fell from Raven's trail.

She breathed a sigh of relief and headed back in the direction of the school. The chase had taken up the rest of the day and now darkness crept across the sky. She still had to get supplies and get the office to sign her up, despite the last-minute notice.

The supplies she ended up stealing. And as for the signing up, she came to the office an hour before the school started and half sweet-talked, half threatened the manager into getting her a schedule and alerting the teachers.

She heard them coming before she saw them. They drove into the parking lot in the kinds of cars that not just anyone can go out and get. Then, they got out, all tall, lean, pale-skinned, and beautiful.

Raven recognized the one who had tried to track her. His arm was around the oldest girl's waist, an annoyed-looking blonde. There was another pair: a slighter, lighter-haired boy with a tiny, pixie-like, black-haired girl. The fifth was single for the moment. His bronze-colored hair caught what little light came through the clouds as he walked quickly across the parking lot.

Out of simple curiosity, Raven marked his progress, suspicions growing. When he reached a red truck and pulled a human girl out of it, her suspicions were confirmed. The young vampire was with a human girl. As they only began to walk, the girl tripped over seemingly nothing, and he had to catch her. He did so effortlessly, of course, and such joy was in his eyes as he did so that Raven had no doubt that they were in complete love.

"Amazing," she breathed, barely audible even to her own ears. _I must mention that to James, _she thought. _He would be most interested._

Raven slowly, leisurely made her way to the school, thinking about James…again.

She was halfway to her first class, a few minutes before the bell was due to ring, when she sensed it. Someone – or something – was listening to her thoughts. Raven couldn't be sure, but it felt like the presence of that bronze-haired vampire who loved the human girl. Immediately, she forcefully emptied her mind completely, opting to review the phases of mitosis. When the presence stayed, she moved on to meiosis.

Eventually, he stopped. Cautiously, Raven allowed her thoughts to roam freely again, but she knew now that she would have to be careful. The boy was a mind reader, a very dangerous talent. Shuddering ever so slightly, she quickly made her way to her first class.

It turned out that Raven had every single class, at least to lunch, with the human girl, whose name turned out to be Bella Swan. Turning her charm power to full force, Raven managed to get on speaking terms with the girl as they walked to Biology. She learned about the Cullens – the family of vampires who had a permanent settlement in Forks – and also found out that Bella had no idea she was in love with a vampire.

"So, what's up with your eyes?" Bella asked her shyly.

Raven smiled briefly at the girl. "What do you think?"

"Well, you're obviously not albino," the girl began to reason, eyes pointedly staring at the vampire's pitch black hair.

She laughed. "No, I'm not. If you must know, they're just colored contacts."

Bella opened the door to the Biology room and Raven did a double take. The mind-reading vampire was sitting at a desk, evidently waiting for his girlfriend. Their eyes met and Raven suddenly understood the reason for Bella's confusion. Edward – for that was the name Bella had given him – had golden irises.

_Oh crap, _Raven thought. _Crap, crap, crap, crap, shit!_

He caught that and frowned at her, as though at a naughty child.

Raven's assigned seat was right behind Edward and Bella, with a boy who called himself Mike Newton. All throughout class Raven delved into the science of Biology with a vigor she would never have produced willingly. Her hard work paid off, though, for Edward looked increasingly frustrated and kept glancing at her warily.

The bell rang and Edward first sent Bella on her way and then came up to Raven. "May I speak with you outside for a minute?" he asked, his voice soft.

"Certainly," Raven said after a moment.

They walked tensely, as if each were waiting for the other to attack. Once they got outside, Edward turned to face her.

"I would ask that you don't hunt on our territory," he said instantly, his voice so quiet that no human ears would ever pick it up. "We have a permanent residence nearby."

"How do you manage that?" she asked, curious.

He ran a hand through his hair. "I suppose you've noticed my eyes."

"Yes."

"My family and I hunt strictly animals. We do not drink from humans."

Raven thought for a moment. "Ever?"

He nodded. "We do not want to be monsters."

Thinking quickly, Raven said, "I will not hunt on your territory if you promise me one thing."

He was instantly on guard. "What?"

"Do not intrude into my mind," Raven growled.

Edward looked considerably startled. "How do you know?"

"I can sense you if you do."

He sighed. "All right. I'll try." He looked back at the school. "We should go back."

"But it's lunch!" Raven protested. "We don't eat!"

He glared. "We have to put up a show. Now, would you like to sit with us?"

Though the invitation seemed innocent enough, Raven suspected he only bothered so that he could keep an eye on her.

She gave him a bright smile and replied, "I'd love to!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

JAMES

It had been one week since Raven had gone to Forks. By herself. James wanted to kick himself for bending enough to allow it. _Why, why, why?_ he chanted to himself. _Why did I do it???_

"James, _stop pacing_!" Laurent said from the couch.

James looked over to his companion, but didn't pause.

Laurent sighed, his blackening eyes following him. "James, please. It's getting on my nerves." He thought for a moment. "Maybe what we need is a hunt."

Just because he felt like it, James dashed from his end of the room to the other, and back. It all took about a hundredth of a second.

Victoria was also watching him. Casually, she said, "You know, if you want me to, I could go and see if she's all right."

James groaned. "Maybe you _should _do that." Then, he shook his head violently. "No. Dangerous." His eyes took on a thoughtful tinge and they seemed to glow brighter.

"That's better," Laurent muttered to Victoria. The sound would not have been heard by a human at all. "I thought he'd never plan again."

James ignored them. After a while of standing completely still, he smiled. "Ok, Victoria. You can go to Raven. Make sure she's fine and find out what she knows. Laurent and I will feed in Seattle and we'll be there when you come back."

"And then?" Victoria prompted.

"That would depend on how your trip goes," James replied.

Victoria nodded and immediately shot out of the room.

Laurent was staring at the floor. "You really love her, don't you?"

James, startled, looked at him curiously. "Who?"

"Raven."

"Oh." James fought a smile. "Yes. Yes, I do."

Laurent approached and clapped him playfully on the shoulder. "I'm sure she's fine." He grinned. "Let's eat."

"I'll race you!" James shouted and jumped straight out the window.

RAVEN

Having spent the day mostly with Bella and the Cullens, Raven learned several very interesting things, first of which the lifestyle that Edward and his family forced themselves to follow. Instead of preying on humans – as was natural – the Cullens had a diet of strictly animals.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" Bella's voice jerked Raven out of her thoughts.

"What wasn't?"

"School." Bella smiled tentatively. "I was the new girl not too long ago, too."

Raven sighed. "No, it wasn't so bad. I have you, anyway." She returned the girl's smile.

"You should have noticed how the guys stared at you," Bella said suddenly, laughing. "I don't think you did, did you?"

"No." Raven frowned and looked around. A few guys were huddled in a group around a car, blankly staring after them. When they saw her look, they quickly turned away. "Huh."

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"No. I'm from…up north."

Bella nodded, but didn't ask. They said their goodbyes as Bella drove away in her noisy, red truck. Raven herself was about to start off in search of a place to stay, or perhaps someone to hunt, when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

She turned, frowning. It was one of the Cullen vampires. Jasper, she remembered.

"Raven," he said quietly, "could we talk for a minute?"

"Of course, Jasper," she replied flatly.

At first, she was suspicious as he led her into the trees. Her suspicion should have been mounting, but he was evidently using his little talent to calm her. Still, she couldn't fight it.

He faced her, his golden eyes slightly worried. "I know you don't feed like we do," he began, "and that's understandable. I speak for my family when I ask that you do not hunt in Forks. We try to remain inconspicuous."

Raven's face remained blank. "Is that all?"

Jasper's lips twisted into a wry smile. "No, it's not. Are you by yourself?"

"Yes," she replied instantly. _And it's true…right now, at least,_ she reasoned with herself.

"You don't belong to a coven?"

"No."

Jasper eyed her doubtfully. After a moment, he said, "All right, then." He began to turn away, but Raven quickly reached out and caught his sleeve. He turned back, eyebrows raised.

"Any advice about the eyes?" she asked, gesturing at her nearly black irises. "They'll be red as soon as I feed."

Jasper frowned. "You could put in colored contacts, but you'll have to change them every once in a while, because the venom will disintegrate them every few hours."

"Thanks."

He nodded and his eyes flicked to Raven's face. He was curious.

Raven saw the questioning gaze. "What?" she invited.

He looked down quickly, as though embarrassed. "It's nothing," he muttered.

"What?" she pressed, an exasperated edge creeping into her tone as she regarded him, wondering what could be bothering him.

Jasper sighed. "It's really just a question out of curiosity. How old are you?"

Raven shrugged. _So that's what was bothering him?_ She smiled and said playfully, "You should know you're not supposed to ask a woman her age."

He smiled, flashing his teeth. "It's for safety's sake only."

"Not too old. I was changed sixteen years ago."

He froze, stopping even his breath.

She stared at him. "What did I say?" she murmured.

Jasper slowly met her eyes. "You're _that_ young?" His tone was unbelieving, incredulous. His eyebrows were raised.

"Yes," Raven said slowly. "Is there a problem?" She tensed, prepared to make a quick getaway.

He shook his head quickly, reaching out so as to hold her in her place. "No, no, no," he said in a rush. "Of course not."

"Then what was the cause for your reaction?" she demanded crossly.

Withdrawing his hand, Jasper ran it through his hair. "It's just that you have amazing control for someone so new." He grimaced at something, possibly some memory.

Raven shrugged again. "Some humans smell better than others, but I've never been tempted beyond control to get at them." She thought for a moment. "Although Bella smells pretty nice."

"You better not," Jasper warned. "Edward would bite your head off."

Laughing easily, she assured him, "I'm not going to hunt on your territory, remember? I won't hurt her." _She's been too nice to me for that, _she added to herself, glad that Edward was nowhere near.

Jasper nodded. "Well, my family is waiting for me. It's been a pleasure." He took Raven's hand and playfully bent over it like he was going to kiss it.

She whipped it out of his grasp and he chuckled good-naturedly. "Good day, lady." He flitted away, slowing as soon as he was in human sight.

Raven, too, turned and ran. She was going to hunt. _Let's see what animals taste like, _she thought, curiosity fueling her as she ran into the mist that was descending over the forest.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

RAVEN

Sprinting through the forest, Raven used her sense of smell to detect a deer. It was already as good as dead. Silently, as though running on air, she flitted quite near. Then, she made a mistake.

A twig cracked under her foot and the deer's head shot up, awareness tensing its muscles. Crouching, it began to leap away.

Raven sprang into motion, waiting not a moment longer. Her powerful legs launched her across the distance between them and straight onto the animal. It crumpled under her weight and she immediately broke its neck, the bone breaking through the skin and letting a bit of blood spurt out.

Inhaling deeply, the vampire grimaced. "Ew," she remarked. Still, she was thirsty and it _was_ blood. Putting her mouth to the wound, she drank deeply, making sure to completely satisfy her thirst before getting up.

VICTORIA

Victoria bounded along the road, not bothering to go her full speed. She was confident that Raven was fine. Even if there was a coven ­– which she rather doubted – then Raven would have no problem avoiding them. She hoped.

_Then again,_ mused Victoria about Raven,_ she might try to pick a fight to prove she's stronger, which she might not be_. The red-haired vampire bit her lip. _No,_ she finally decided. _Raven's smarter than that_._ She's young, true, but she's smart_.

As Victoria entered Forks, she slowed, looking about for any signs. So far, there were no signs of either Raven or another coven. She continued running in the shadows, invisible to human eyes. Then, she froze.

The scent hit her hard and without warning. The scent of another vampire, one that definitely was not Raven. It was all over the place.

Looking up, Victoria saw that the building beside which she stood was a hospital. _So the vampire came to the hospital_, she thought. _And damn…he must come here a lot! _The building absolutely reeked of the smell.

There was another coven in Forks. Either that or it was the vampire alone. Whichever it was, Victoria didn't plan on staying to find out. She had to find raven and warn her, if that was still possible. _If I'm not in time, James will have my head,_ she knew. _Oh, Raven, where the hell are you?_

The voices of approaching humans reached her ears and Victoria fled out of the area before they could see her, for that might lead to questions. It was important to stay inconspicuous, to see but not to be seen.

RAVEN

One more thing had to be done, just the one, before she went back to the school in time for the break of dawn. Raven made a quick detour to the bus stop, where a half-asleep man was standing.

Playing on his vulnerability, she casually flicked her hair over her shoulder as she approached him, walking slowly and being sure to sway her hips with every movement. "Hey," she purred, "you know where the optometrist is?"

His eyes appraised her and, looking awed, he nodded. "Yeah, uh…go four blocks that way and then two that way and you'll be there," he directed, pointing.

She flashed him a winning smile and thanked him. Then, she walked quickly off before he could say anything else. As soon as she was sure he couldn't see her, she went into a speed that suited her better. The first rays of the sun were beginning to rip into the night.

Breaking into the optometrist's office took no time at all; James had shown her how to do it years ago, and she'd had much practice since that time. _A criminal life is best lived,_ she mused, _when you _know_ you can't get caught; and even if you do, no sweat_. After much poking around, she finally found some contacts that fitted her eye measurements.

Raven crossed the room to stand in front of the mirror and gingerly slid a contact onto each eye, under the lid. It felt wrong, this thin, round _thing_ on her eye. She looked into the mirror, checking to make sure she had it right. Then, she stared into her own eyes. They were bright blue.

"Ugh," she groaned. "Yesterday I went to school with red eyes. Today I have blue. When I get used to animals, it'll be gold." She shook her head. Her classmates would just have to deal with it and her feeble explanations.

She was about to leave when a voice sounded behind her.

"Don't forget extras," it said lightly.

Growling, Raven spun around to face her enemy and launched herself across the room at the huge, muscled vampire whom she had 'met' on the first day she had gotten to Forks.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

RAVEN

As Raven launched herself across the room, the vampire quickly threw himself sideways, surprise flashing across his face like wildfire through a dry forest. He hadn't been expecting her to have a violent reaction, and therefore wasn't quick enough. She crashed into his side, sending them both into the wall and him spinning uncontrollably.

He – Emmett, as she remembered – grunted and arrested his movement and grabbed her forearm. Once more misinterpreting his contact with her as aggressive, Raven jerked her arm into herself, using the other to knock his hand off of hers and pull him into her. As she did so, she swiftly brought one fist towards his face.

Emmett jerked back, alarmed, and snatched his arm back, the muscles rippling in what was almost a wave as he pulled it towards himself. "Raven," he said quietly and slowly, "I am not going to hurt you."

Raven snorted and began to pull herself from inside the wall. "Sure."

"I'm not!"

"Well, I have to take precautions. They're instincts, actually. I am, after all, a nomad."

Again, that look of surprise came…and vanished just as quickly. "You are?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, I am. Why?"

"Well, we – the Cullens, that is – all thought that you had come here to stay."

"And why would I do something like that?"

Emmett shrugged. "_We_ don't know," he said pointedly.

"Well, neither do I, apparently." Raven now stood fully inside the room and she began to look around. "Extras, you said? Why?"

"Because the contacts will disintegrate. You'll have to change them every few hours."

"Mmph." Raven slipped a couple boxes of the contacts that had fit her into her pocket. "Well, shall we go?"

VICTORIA

Walking past the school was nothing, as Victoria said to herself. Sure, children were no treat, especially since it brought back the remembrance of the bitterness of being a vampire: infertility. Then, she saw something that made her freeze in her tracks, gape, and be in complete shock.

As Victoria's eyes followed her, Raven arrived at the school on foot, a black backpack easily slung over her shoulder, and sauntered, as though she had been doing it since the beginning of time, straight inside.

_What does she think she's doing_? Victoria thought, unfreezing and starting to grab her hair in frustration. _Raven's completely lost her mind! Raven, Raven, Raven! Argh, James is going to KILL me!!! What am I supposed to do, what am I supposed to do, what am I supposed to—?_

Her thoughts tapered abruptly off as she noticed a bronze-haired teenage-looking vampire staring at her intently. He turned ever so slightly to a pixie-like vampire at his shoulder and mouthed James' name, as well as a few other words that Victoria did not distinguish. It looked like he was asking her a question. A few moments later, she found out that she was right, because the black-haired one that he was talking to shrugged and bounded over lightly to a tall, light-haired vampire who was beginning to walk away, draping herself over his arm.

_Dammit!_ Victoria quickly turned away and darted into the shadows, running swiftly and lightly, making sure that she disappeared for the nosy vampire. A half-minute later, she stopped to let her thoughts catch up to her.

_He could read my mind,_ she realized. _A mind-reading vampire_…_an intriguing idea, but not on him! _And Raven was in there, in the same school…he could easily soon know all about them, not that it would mean anything. But suppose he heard what she had fantasized about Laurent, what she had told Raven a week ago in the meadow when they were away from the men…no. She wouldn't think of it.

Then, Victoria's dark red eyes narrowed. _What's wrong with his eyes? _she wondered, recalling that they had been a goldish shade, rather than red or black. She sighed and closed her eyes, pressing her back against a tree trunk. _I have to speak to Raven; maybe she knows more about this than I do, and can explain something to me_.

RAVEN

It was lunch time, a time during which Raven was less concerned with eating and more with communicating with the Cullens. At Emmett's invitation, she sat once more at their table, which was empty (besides themselves) since Bella chose today to sit with her human friends. Today, unlike the other days, they started the interrogation.

"So, Raven," started Jasper casually, sending out a subtle wave of calm, which would have alarmed her, except it was impossible to be alarmed. "Guess who we saw in the parking lot today?"

Puzzled, she glanced from one face to another. Only the females let their feelings show. Rosalie looked hostile, while Alice looked more speculative. "How should I know?"

Edward was entering her mind and she glared at him.

"Sorry," he muttered. "It's hard, you know."

Nodding, she accepted his apology. "So, who did you see?"

For a few seconds, nobody spoke. Then, Alice said, "We saw a vampire. Long, red hair, red eyes, probably about your height."

"Do you know her?" Jasper asked, seeing – and probably sensing – the recognition registering.

"Yes; her name is Victoria and she's from my coven," Raven said easily. Then, she paused. "Wait...oh."

"What?" said Jasper and Alice in unison. The others looked interested, as well.

"Nothing," Raven said quickly. "I think lunch is just about over, right?" She stood sinuously, throwing out her lunch as she'd seen the Cullens do. Inside, though she was full of emotions.

_If Victoria's here already, it must mean James got worried about me and decided not to wait for me to come back_, she thought as she went outside, knowing that she would skip the next class. _But why did she come here? How did she know I was here? What do they want? _Oddly, she was feeling possessive of everything she had learned of the Cullens, and of Bella, whom she had befriended.

_Thank goodness Victoria can't read minds,_ Raven thought jokingly as she walked away from the school. Then, out of the shadows stepped a red-haired vampire, who smiled, showing her sharp teeth.

"Raven," she greeted. "I was getting worried." She glanced behind the black-haired vampire towards the school. "It looks like we have much to talk about."

_Maybe I shouldn't have skipped class after all,_ Raven thought ruefully. _Nothing to do about it now_.


End file.
